Chinese executive donates $700,000 to UHV business school
University of Houston-Victoria business students and faculty now have more resources to improve programs, research and international business studies in China thanks to a $700,000 contribution from an esteemed Chinese businessman who previously was awarded the first honorary doctorate from the university.
The donation from Bingxin Wu is the largest the UHV School of Business Administration has ever received and comes five years after his first contribution to the university. His first donation of $600,000 supported international business education, including study abroad opportunities for UHV’s students.
“I had the privilege of meeting Chairman Wu at his office in China, and he expressed care for students and is invested in supporting international study for UHV’s School of Business Administration,” said President Bob Glenn. “We are appreciative of his ongoing support of the university. His generosity is going to help make great things happen for UHV and the state of Texas.”
The new donation will support several areas in the business school. The study abroad program to China will be supported by $45,000 of the contribution, and $200,000 will provide up to $2,000 in travel scholarships for each of 20 undergraduate and graduate students studying abroad in China each year for five years. Another $200,000 will fund six- to 12-month executive-level internships and projects for UHV faculty, and $100,000 will support faculty research, publications and conference participation related to economic consumption theory, leadership or other related topics. A distinguished speaker series during the school’s fall and spring Bachelor of Business Administration conferences will be funded with $100,000, and $55,000 will be used for activities in the Bingxin Wu International Research Center for Consumption and Leadership Management Education.
“UHV’s talented students should have an opportunity to be involved in global commerce and interact with Chinese students and executives,” Wu said. “The purpose of this new gift is to promote cross-cultural exchanges and communication with other countries. Business students and faculty who come from various ethnicities can pursue opportunities to study abroad and contribute to the center.”
Wu cares about what’s happening at UHV and always is looking to see how the university can evolve, said Jifu Wang, associate dean of the School of Business Administration. With Wu’s contribution, the faculty will be able to do external research and projects in the workforce related to what they teach at UHV, he said. The faculty will be able to enhance its knowledge and bring it back to the classroom.
“While this gift helps UHV students and faculty, they also can apply what they know to the workforce and contribute to the business world,” Wang said.
Wu is the president and board chairman of Sanzhu Group, Beijing Genetic Engineering Research Institute and the Beijing Nuozhou Institute of Biology. Sanzhu Group is involved in the health care, medicine, medical devices, hospital and ecological cosmetics industries. He also is the UHV School of Business Administration Executive in Residence and has presented lectures during the school’s study abroad trips to China. In 2016, Wu was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from UHV. It was the first Doctor of Humane Letters to be awarded at any UH System campus other than UH. Wu also was given a key to the city by Victoria Mayor Paul Polasek.
The funds will greatly enhance the reputation of UHV’s School of Business Administration, said Charles Stowe, interim dean of the school. The university will initially receive $45,000 of the donation, and $65,000 will be awarded each year from 2019 to 2028.
“There’s so much we want to do to improve what we’re already doing, such as making business connections and promoting growth through the various areas the gift will fund,” Wang said. “External funding like Chairman Wu’s donation helps make that possible.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
